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Recycling efforts mean that USC's junk isn't destined for landfill
The following is from the USC Times Online - 12/01 Issue
By Chris Horn Got any use for a 33mhz computer or a monitor with a burned-out tube? It's definitely junk, but USC isn't throwing it away.
For the past five years, the University's Purchasing Office and Consolidated Services have been finding new ways to get rid of unwanted property without trucking it to the landfill.
"Generating revenue was not our primary aim—we just wanted to get rid of the material without putting it in a landfill," said Scott Reynolds, USC's director of purchasing
"With this process, the University rids itself of material which the state of South Carolina has determined is junk, and USC gets money back from the recycling vendor."
The amount of revenue is small—$0.0175/lb for scrap electronics and $0.009/lb. for other scrap materials, including steel—but the recycling vendors for both types of material remove the material in a timely fashion. Obsolete computer equipment is picked up by a recycling company that strips usable material—including platinum from the circuit boards—and recycles the plastic.
"Computer and TV monitors are considered hazardous material because of the mercury in the cathode ray tube," Reynolds said. "Eventually, we might have to pay a fee to the manufacturer when the items are purchased to cover the cost of future disposal, but for now we're able to let a private recycler pick it up and we get a little revenue, too."
In the past year, the University has recycled 122 tons of scrap metal, 69 tons of scrap electronics, and 1,669 mercury lamps. The University is now purchasing Eco-Lamps, which last longer and are suitable for landfill disposal but still are recycled.
Since 1996, more than 850 tons of junk material from USC campuses have been recycled. Items that are determined to have some value are kept in a 90-day inventory at Consolidated Services, and University units often select items such as furniture for further use. In the past year, more than 1,600 items have been transferred to State Surplus.
'Green' dorm gets green light for construction
The following is from the USC Times Online - 12/01 issue
By Chris HornUSC's newest residential hall, planned for completion by summer 2004, is expected to be one of the first major buildings in South Carolina certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Construction on the $29 million West Quad on Wheat and South Main streets will begin in the third quarter of 2002 and will complete the third phase of the South Campus Housing complex, which includes South and East quads. The 500-bed, three-building West Quad will incorporate several sustainable development concepts in its design, construction, and operation.
"This is the smart way to build, and the right way to build," said Gene Luna, USC's director of housing. "The myth is that it costs more to build a 'green' residence hallÑit will not. Constuction costs will follow those of South and East Quads, yet West Quad will require less heating, cooling, water, and lighting."
During the past several months, architects and USC housing and facilities administrators have discussed the concept of building a "green" residence hall. The initial steps of selecting a site and orientation for the complex were carried out with an eye toward energy conservation and minimizing impact on the environment.
"The School of the Environment and the Sustainable Universities Initiative really got us moving in this direction early on," Luna said. "This will be an exciting milestone for the campus."
To qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, USC's West Quad must meet several criteria, including water efficiency, low-maintenance landscaping, efficient mechanical systems, recycling of building materials, and decreased dependence on generated light and heat.
"Our real aim is that students will see this as a practical example of sustainable development and get a bigger picture of what sustainability, recycling and other green issues are all about," Luna said. "We also want this project to be a model for other buildings in the state and region."
Like the other new residence halls in the South Campus Housing complex, West Quad will include apartment suites, each with four private bedrooms. With minimal renovation, the units could be converted to two-bedroom units in the future, Luna said. Within a year or two of West Quad's completion, demolition of the remaining four Towers residence halls is expected, Luna said.
West Quad also will include a 7,000-square-foot academic center and perhaps a faculty apartment should the University choose to create a second residential college or wish to house a visiting professor who would have regular interaction with resident students. Unlike the stuccoed exteriors of South and East quads, West Quad probably will most likely have a brick exterior, Luna said.
Construction of the project, to be paid for with housing revenue bonds, was approved by the Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees at its Nov. 16 meeting. The full board will meet Dec. 17 to consider the project. The committee also OK'd a plan to sell nearly two acres of University land on Wheat Street near the Sol Blatt P.E. Center to the USC Development Foundation. The site, which now includes tennis courts, will be used for the University's new child-development center in partnership with Gateway, a private childcare provider.
A.C. Moore Garden gets a facelift The following is from the USC Times Online - 06/01 issue
By Larry Wood; Photos by Michael BrownWorkers dredged the pond in the A.C. Moore Garden June 27 as part of a bicentennial project to revitalize the urban park and make it more accessible.
A rededication for the garden is planned tentatively for Nov.27. The garden, shaded by eastern cottonwoods, oaks, and Southern magnolias, slopes from the south side of Patterson residence hall to Blossom Street at the corner of Pickens Street in downtown Columbia. The greenspace occupies about one quarter of a city block. Alumni, led by Carolina Alumni Association executive director Marsha Cole, right, began preparatory cleanup in the Moore Garden last fall. Before the rededication takes place, other improvements are planned, said Kirstin Dow, an assistant professor in the geography department, who is helping with the revitalization.
The spring-fed pond will be refilled and restocked with bream, crappie, largemouth bass, and catfish. Before the pond was dredged, workers used nets to remove most of the fish.
The pond is more than a home for fish, frogs, and tadpoles. The biology department uses it for sampling methods, Dow said.
Sediment dredged from the pond will be dried out and recycled as prime topsoil. The Asphalt Association of South Carolina has donated the materials for walkways and paths in the garden, and native azaleas will be added to the landscape.
Other improvements include repairs to the stairway leading to Patterson, an irrigation system, and enhanced lighting.
University alumni took the first steps to renovate the garden in March, clearing limbs, leaves, and debris on National Service Day.
USC purchased the property in 1937 to be used as an arboretum and dedicated the garden to Andrew Charles Moore in 1941.
Moore, born in 1866, was the first honor graduate of South Carolina College in 1887. In 1905, he became the first chair of the newly created Department of Biology, establishing the herbarium that also bears his name.
He served twice as interim president of the University from 1908 to 1909 and from 1913 to 1914. He died on campus in 1928.
For more information about the garden, go to www.sc.edu/acmooregarden/
GEM of a car will help USC cut costs and conserve environmental resources
The following is from the USC Times Online - 05/01 issueBy Kathy Henry Dowell
No need to worry about rising gasoline prices if you drive a Global Electric Motor (GEM) car. This electric vehicle runs on a system of rechargeable batteries. In an effort to reduce costs and conserve natural resources, USC will begin using such alternative fuel vehicles very soon. The Housing Office will be the first area to add a GEM to its fleet.
"We hope to have a GEM and an electric Ford Ranger in use on campus by the start of the new academic year," said Michael Koman, environmental protection manager.
Two GEMs were on campus June 14 to be examined and test-driven. "These vehicles don't require the fluids that regular cars do, which means they aren't using natural resources such as petroleum," he said. "And they are zero-emission cars, so they aren't affecting air quality."
Equipped with a 72-volt electric engine that runs off a battery system, the vehicle can be charged in any standard electrical outlet and runs about 80 miles on a single charge. It's emission-free and costs as little as one cent per mile to operate, compared to10 cents per mile for a traditional gas
vehicle."With a top speed of 25 miles per hour, these are street-legal as compared to a golf cart, which isn't. That means these vehicles can have license plates and be used on the street or on turf," Koman continued.
"These vehicles will be great for our grounds and maintenance crews. They're also a great billboard for environmental sustainability, and other environmental issues, and how the University is working to achieve that," he said.
The cost for a GEM ranges from $6,000 to $12,000 per vehicle. The models USC will purchase will cost under $10,000 each, Koman said.
Energy Savers At USC
The following is from the SC Energy Office's Fall 2000 edition of
Energy ConnectionSaving electricity, water AND money...what a deal! The University of South Carolina's Department of University Housing is doing just that with their new laundry services. Under direction of Dr. Gene Luna, Director of Student Development and University Housing, the new program is underway this fall.
The University Housing department has contracted with Web laundry Services to provide state-of-the-art laundry services in USC's residence halls. Working with the School of the Environment and the South Carolina Sustainable Universities Initiative, the specifications for this new contract included energy and water conservation as a primary goal, along with world-class service to students.
Web Laundry Services has replaced all washing machines on campus with new front loading, water conserving washers. These Maytag machines use 10 gallons less water than the previous machines, have a larger capacity, require less detergent, and remove more moisture during the spin cycle, thereby reducing the energy used to dry the clothes.
Campus-wide, this conservation initiative will reduce water consumption in residence hall laundry rooms by more than 2 million gallons per year (nearly a 30 percent reduction). The reduced water and energy consumption together is projected to save $20,000 per year, a reduction of 24 percent from previous arrangements.
Dr. Gene Luna, Director of Student Development and University Housing, has championed this movement saying, "It makes perfect sense to conserve water and energy this way while also saving the University thousands of dollars. We hope to continue to make improvements in University Housing, moving toward sustainability."
The new laundry facilities also include a communications system called Laundrimate®, a Web Laundry exclusive amenity which should save students time and energy. With Laundrimate®, students can telephone the laundry room to see whether there are machines available, thus saving trips to the laundry room. The system will also call a student's room to let them know when their clothes are finished washing or drying.
USC has a newly formed, presidentially-appointed Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) of which Dr. Luna has said, "Attending the monthly meetings of the EAC has really made me think about the way we do things in Housing, and changing these washing machines is a direct result of that." The EAC was formed in 1999 and is composed of 24 members including faculty, staff and students from all over campus. These new laundry facilities are a perfect example of the type of change the EAC and the Sustainable Universities Initiative hope will begin to spread throughout campus and the community.
USC recognized for environmental practice
The following is from the USC Times OnLine - February 2002 IssueThe University of South Carolina has been named a leading school by the National Wildlife
Federation (NWF) for its efforts to develop an environmentally sustainable campus.
According to "The State of the Campus Environment: A National Report Card on Environmental Performance and Sustainability in Higher Education," conducted by the NWF, USC is a leader in two categories.
As a leading school for recycling, and solid waste and materials flow, USC recycles items in more than 30 categories. As part of the university's waste-reduction efforts, USC's offices of Waste Management, Consolidated Services, and Purchasing collaborate to re-use furniture and equipment and to purchase goods with recycled content.
USC also was cited for doing more with land and grounds management programs, a category that acknowledges the university's future plans, including the building of a "green dorm."
The student residential hall will be designed to conserve energy and water and will serve as a living-learning facility. In the "green dorm," students will have the opportunity to learn about the latest in environmental design technology from their own residence hall.
For more information on the NWF's report, go to www.nwf.org/campusecology.
USC received $23,030 in funding from DOE/SC Energy Office to install E-85 refueling infrastructure. USC has seventy flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and maintenance trucks that will fuel exclusively on E-85. Operating these vehicles on E-85 will displace 42,834 gallons of gasoline each year. The total cost of this project is only $32,900, which makes it a low-cost project that will have a high visibility and impact in the Columbia area.
